The Blues are in Dallas to begin a challenging stretch of playing five road games in eight days.

The obvious and tangible mission is to win games, accumulate points and strengthen the team’s position in the powerful Western Conference.

Mathematics aside, the Blues have another important assignment:

“We’re still defining what we are, who we are,” general manager Doug Armstrong said. “And we’d like to get that answer sooner than later.”

Armstrong’s message is clear. It’s time for Blues players to stand up and tell us what they plan to do the rest of the season.

In 2011-2012, we knew who the Blues were. Their strengths were clearly identified and established. The Blues prevented goals better than any NHL team, and received airtight goaltending from Jaroslav Halak and Brian Elliott.

The Blues controlled offensive-zone space, and pressured opponents into making critical mistakes that set up goal-scoring chances. The Blues offense was more opportunistic than prolific.